Table Of Contents
-----------------

1. What is M1Edit? 
1.1. Introduction 
1.2. Features In Brief 
1.3. Special Features 
1.3.1. Re-enable Retired Platoons 
1.3.2. Resurrect Dead Crewmen 
1.4. System Requirements 

2. Quick Start 

3. Up and Running 
3.1. Where To Install 
3.2. Getting In, Getting Out 
3.3. What M1edit Will Do When It Runs 
3.4. What Can You Edit 
3.5. What You Can't Edit 

4. What You See On Screen 
4.1. Menu Bar 
4.1.1 Commands for the Menu 
4.2. Status Line 
4.3. DeskTop 
4.4. Platoon Window 
4.4.1. Commands for Windows 
4.5. Other Windows 
4.6. Edit Fields 
4.6.1. Commands for Edit Fields 
4.7. "Edit ..." Buttons 
4.7.1. Commands for Buttons 

5. General Good Advice
5.1. Protect Yourself 
5.2. Where To Find What You Are Looking For 
5.3. Where To Look If You Can't Find It 

6. How Does M1Edit Work? 
6.1. Editing The "roster" File 
6.2. Saving Edits: File/Save 
6.3. Discarding Edits: File/Reload 
6.4. Make A Backup: File/Backup 
6.5. Restore From Backup: File/Restore 

7. Help in M1Edit 
7.1. Status Line Help 
7.2. Help File 

8. If Something Goes Wrong 
8.1. Get Me Out Of Here! 
8.2. Restore Your Backup 

9. Hints On Playing M1 Tank Platoon (tm)

10. About M1Edit 
10.1. Who We Are 
10.2. A Few Thoughts On Shareware 
10.3. The Difference Between Editing And Cheating 
10.4. How To Contact Us 


1. What is M1Edit? 
------------------ 
1.1. Introduction 
----------------- 
M1Edit is a gamer's utility for editing the saved-game file in M1 Tank  
Platoon (tm) from MicroProse (tm).  It is a DOS application that uses a  
sophisticated, window-based user interface. 
 
The interface can be controlled using a mouse or keyboard. 
 
1.2. Features In Brief 
---------------------- 
M1 Tank Platoon (tm) allows the player to define and play eight (8) 
different tank platoons with four (4) tanks per platoon and four (4) 
crewmen per tank. 
 
M1Edit will allow the player to edit all features of each platoon, 
tank and crewman in the game: names, score, kills, losses, missions, 
rounds of ammo, skill, rank and medals are all editable. 
 
1.3. Special Features 
--------------------- 
1.3.1. Re-enable Retired Platoons 
--------------------------------- 
M1 Tank Platoon (tm) will retire a platoon after the 100th mission.  
M1Edit will allow the player to bring retired platoons back to active 
service (see Hints).
 
1.3.2. Resurrect Dead Crewmen 
----------------------------- 
When a crewman becomes a casualty of war, M1 Tank Platoon (tm) will 
bury the crewman and forget the crewman ever existed.  M1Edit will 
allow the player to revive crewmen (see Hints).
 
1.4. System Requirements 
------------------------ 
M1Edit has been extensively tested on a 486/33 (8 meg RAM) and a 386/25  
(4 meg RAM) under DOS 5.00.  It runs nicely in a DOS-box in Windows 3.1  
or from the DOS prompt itself.  It neither uses nor requires EMS/XMS but  
is fully compatible with popular memory managers (eg. 386MAX and EMM386). 
 
M1Edit can be mouse-driven but is fully controllable from the keyboard. 
Fully installed, M1Edit requires about 350k of disk space. 
 
2. Quick Start 
--------------
To get started quickly, simply run M1Edit from the DOS prompt. 
 
If you are not in the right directory M1Edit will tell you that and 
allow you to move to the directory where M1 Tank Platoon (tm) is 
installed (see File/Change Directory).  Once there, you are in
business.  That's all there is to it. 
 
3. Up and Running 
----------------- 
3.1. Where To Install 
--------------------- 
Generally speaking, your life will be simpler if you install M1Edit in  
the same directory that you have M1 Tank Platoon (tm) installed. 
 
While this is not necessary, since you can always change to the M1 
Tank Platoon directory from within M1Edit, it will speed up the 
editing process by removing the need to change directory. 
 
3.2. Getting In, Getting Out 
---------------------------- 
To start M1Edit, simply type "M1Edit" at the DOS prompt. 
 
To exit M1Edit, select File/Exit or use the "accelerator" key command  
Alt-X. 
 
3.3. What M1Edit Will Do When It Runs 
------------------------------------- 
When M1Edit runs it will look to see that you have a backup file (called  
roster.bak).  If the file exists, M1Edit will load the save-game file  
and you'll be in business. 
 
If the backup file does not exist, M1Edit will try to create it. Once 
the backup file exists, M1Edit will be happy and will proceed to load 
the save-game file for your editing pleasure. 
 
3.4. What Can You Edit 
---------------------- 
M1Edit has been designed to give the user maximum control over the game.   
We've tried to allow the user to edit anything and everything. 
 
If something isn't in the editor it is simply because we don't know 
how to edit it.  Whatever we do know, we've made editable by you. 
 
3.5. What You Can't Edit 
------------------------ 
As powerful as M1Edit is, it can't do everything.  What you see on the  
screen during play - enemy vehicles, position, rate-of-fire, etc. - is  
beyond our control. 
 
4. What You See On Screen 
-------------------------
4.1. Menu Bar 
-------------
The line at the top of your screen is the menu bar.  
 
All features of M1Edit appear as items on the menu bar or as items on  
the drop-down menus that are controlled by the menu bar. 
 
4.1.1 Commands for the Menu 
--------------------------- 
The menu can be controlled with the mouse in the usual manner.  Left- 
click on something to select it, left-click and drag to move the focus.   
The usual stuff, nothing fancy. 
 
The menu system can also be fully controlled from the keyboard: 
o F10 moves the focus to the menu bar. 
o Alt-? will select a menu bar option where "?" is the highlighted  
  character on the menu option (eg. Alt-F will drop the File menu, 
  Alt-E the Edit menu, etc). 
o Alt-Spacebar will drop the System menu (left-most on the menu bar). 
o Arrow keys can be used to move between menu items. 
o Enter will select a highlighted menu option. 
 
4.2. Status Line 
----------------
The line at the bottom of your screen is the status line. 
 
The purpose of the status line is to show the user the "status" of  
M1Edit.  This usually means that it will display a helpful message. 
 
4.3. DeskTop 
------------
Everything between the menu bar and the status line is the desktop. 
 
When a window is open it is said to be "on the desktop".  If something  
is on the desktop the user has control of it and can manipulate it. 
 
4.4. Platoon Window 
-------------------
When M1Edit begins it will open a window for Platoon 1 (see the name in  
the window title).  For each platoon there is a similar window.  If you  
want to edit a particular platoon, or something related to that platoon,  
then the Platoon window is where you start. 
 
4.4.1. Commands for Windows 
--------------------------- 
o Items on the Window menu allow the following window operations
  (where applicable):
  o Size/Move the current window (Ctrl-F5).  In Size/Move mode, 
    Arrow(s) will move the window, Shift-Arrow(s) will resize.
  o Cascade all windows
  o move to Next window (F6)
  o move to Previous window (Shift-F6)
  o Close the current window (Alt-F3)
o Tab will move the focus to the next field or button; Shift-Tab will
  move back to the previous field.
 
4.5. Other Windows 
------------------
M1Edit organises the tanks in a given platoon into sub-windows  
accessible from the Platoon window. 
 
Crew members of a given tank are organized into sub-windows accessible  
from the Tank window. 
 
The title of each window fully specifies the "ownership" of the data  
within that window.  For example, a window entitled "Platoon 1/Tank 3"  
contains data relevant to the third tank in Platoon 1. 
 
4.6. Edit Fields 
----------------
If something is editable from a given window then an edit field will be  
available within the window to allow the user to performs the edits.   
What the user can do within a given edit field depends on the type of  
data the edit field represents.  
 
When a particular edit field has the focus (is highlighted) the status  
line will display a message indicating what form of input is expected in  
that field. 
 
4.6.1. Commands for Edit Fields 
-------------------------------
The best advice here is to look at the help text on the status line.  
The edit fields are fairly sophisticated and provide a wide range of 
options to the user.  The help text will detail those options.  Here 
is a quick summary: 
 
o Text fields: type the test you want, Del to delete, Backspace to  
  backspace-and-delete, Home to go to the start of the text, End to go  
  to the end. 
o Number fields: Up-arrow to decrement, Down-arrow to increment, Home  
  for first valid value in the number's range, End for the last valid  
  value in the number's range.  You can also enter a number from the  
  keyboard. 
o Named fields (eg. rank, crewman's name): Up-arrow to go to previous  
  "value", Down-arrow for next "value", Home for first "value", End for  
  last "value". 
 
4.7. "Edit ..." Buttons 
-----------------------
As mentioned above, M1Edit is organized into windows.  To move to a sub- 
window, select the appropriate "Edit ..." button (left-click or 
Spacebar).
 
4.7.1. Commands for Buttons 
--------------------------- 
o Using the mouse: simply left-click on the button. 
o Using the keyboard: press the Spacebar to select the button. 
 
5. General Good Advice
----------------------
5.1. Protect Yourself 
--------------------- 
The old saying goes that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of  
cure.  In the world of software, a minute of prevention is worth an  
eternity of recovery. 
 
We strongly suggest that you take that minute and copy your "roster" 
and "roster.bak" files to a safe place, preferably a diskette that 
you reserve for just this purpose. 
 
5.2. Where To Find What You Are Looking For 
------------------------------------------- 
Everything is in the menus.  Step through the menus to see what is  
there. 
 
Try things that look interesting.  The editor won't do anything  
drastic without warning you first and you will have the option to  
cancel.   
 
5.3. Where To Look If You Can't Find It 
--------------------------------------- 
If you can't find what you are looking for on the menu, try Help on the  
Help menu.  You'll get a text window showing this file.  Scrolling works  
so you can zoom up and down through the file. 
 
6. How does M1Edit work? 
------------------------ 
6.1. Editing The roster File 
---------------------------- 
M1Edit does one thing: it edits a file called "roster".  That file  
contains all of the information related to each of the eight (8)  
platoons in M1 Tank Platoon (tm).  Using the editor, you modify the 
contents of the roster file.  The next time you boot the game, you 
will see the changes you made. 
 
To be on the safe side a backup of "roster" will be created the first  
time M1Edit runs.  The backup file is called "roster.bak".  As 
mentioned above, we do suggest you copy both of these files to a 
diskette and put the diskette in a safe place. 
 
6.2. Saving Edits: File/Save 
---------------------------- 
Once you've made your edits, you'll want to save them: select File/Save.   
When you save your edits the "roster" file is updated (i.e. the changes  
are written to disk). 
 
If you exit M1Edit without saving your edits they will be discarded and  
you won't see them next time you play. 
 
To be on the safe side M1Edit will warn you if there are edits 
("unsaved changes") that have not been written back to the roster 
file. 
 
Try a few edits and then select File/Exit.  This will pop up the 
warning box.  Now you know that you can trust M1Edit to protect you 
from accidental loss of your edits. 
 
6.3. Discarding Edits: File/Reload 
---------------------------------- 
Sometimes you make edits that you would rather discard: perhaps you 
made a mistake, or been a little more generous than you think is 
best. 
 
To discard all the edits you've made since the last time you saved 
simply reload the roster file (File/Reload).  This dumps all your
current unsaved changes and gets you back to a "clean" roster file. 
 
6.4. Make A Backup: File/Backup 
------------------------------- 
M1Edit will automatically make a backup for you the first time you 
start M1Edit.  The backup file is called "roster.bak". 
 
If you really want to update your backup file, select File/Backup.  
You will be warned that you are going to loose the old backup, but if 
that is really what you want to do, carry on.  "roster" will be 
copied to "roster.bak" and the old "roster.bak" will be lost. 
 
6.5. Restore From Backup: File/Restore 
-------------------------------------- 
If you want to restore "roster" to what it used to be, File/Restore
will copy "roster.bak" to "roster". 
 
The next time you play M1, you'll see the platoons, tanks and crewmen 
as they were when the backup file was made. 
 
7. Help in M1Edit 
----------------- 
7.1. Status-line Help 
--------------------- 
The status line is the first place to look for help in M1Edit.  Every  
attempt has been made to assist the user by displaying helpful messages  
on the status line. 
 
M1Edit is context-sensitive and the help text on the status line will  
change to reflect the current context. 
 
7.2. Help file 
-------------- 
You are reading the help file now.  This help file can be displayed from  
within the game by selecting Help/Help.

The Help file window is like any other window: Size/Move, Close,
Cascade, Next, Previous all apply as per 4.4.1.

The help file itself (m1help.txt) is a straight text file.  This file
can be printed using your favourite print utility.  At the very least
you can type "print m1help.txt" at the DOS prompt.
 
8. If Something Goes Wrong 
-------------------------- 
We really don't think that anything bad will happen using M1Edit.  We  
have designed it such that the safety and integrity of the game data  
file is of primary importance.  Extensive tests have shown that the data  
is well protected and that M1Edit behaves properly.  But the unexpected  
does happen when you least expect it. 
 
If -heaven forbid- the game data file (roster) has been corrupted  
somehow, M1Edit will detect the invalid data and give the user LOTS of  
warnings about it.  You can correct the data from M1Edit on a field by  
field basis.  If the file is truly corrupted this process can get  
annoying.  The best option is to bail out of the editor and restore the  
backup file.  Here's how: 
 
8.1. Get Me Out Of Here! 
------------------------ 
Ctrl-Alt-Q means "get me out of here, now!".  No saves are done, no  
backups, no nothing.  This is the only "secret" command in M1Edit and is  
there for emergencies only.  Hopefully you'll never need it, but at least  
it is there if you do. 
 
8.2. Restore Your Backup 
------------------------ 
If the game data has been trashed somehow, your best bet is your backup  
file "roster.bak".  You can select File/Restore from M1Edit, or simply  
copy "roster.bak" to "roster" at the DOS prompt.  Yes, you'll loose the  
latest stuff in your game, but this should recover from the corrupted  
game data file. 
 
9. Hints On Playing M1 Tank Platoon (tm)
----------------------------------------
We have logged more hours than we can count playing M1Edit.  We like the  
game a lot and that is why we wrote this editor.  We have learned a few  
things along the way.  Perhaps some of it will be useful to you. 
 
o Retired Platoons:  don't you hate it when the game retires a Platoon  
  on you.  Your most experienced guys are off to the pub to tell each  
  other their war stories.  To recall those guys to active service use  
  M1Edit to set "Battles Fought" to something less than 100.  Now they  
  are "back on the roster". 
 
o Dead too soon: To resurrect a dead crewman use M1Edit to change the  
  crewman's rank from "Dead" to something a bit more useful.  Please  
  note that you must do this before you send the Platoon on another  
  mission: M1 Tank Platoon (tm) will bury any crewman that is dead and 
  then that crewman is gone forever. 
 
o Stronger, better, faster: the single most important statistic  
  determining a crewman's effectiveness is that crewman's Rating. 
  The higher the Rating the better the crewman will perform.  Expert  
  crewmen are a real boon to a tank's performance and a platoon's
  survival.
 
o Too little ammo?: try bumping your rounds up to the max (99).  In  
  most cases the game will allow you access to a lot more than the 
  usual 40 round limit. 
 
10. About M1Edit 
---------------- 
10.1. Who we are 
---------------- 
M1Edit's authors, Trevor Flory and Joe Mooney, are both professional  
software designers with a combined total of over 20 years in the  
business.  M1Edit is our first free-lance project together. 
 
10.2. A Few Thoughts On Shareware 
--------------------------------- 

We think "try before you buy" is good for everyone.  We like it
ourselves and we think it is one of the best ways to ensure that the
user get what they pay for.  We encourage you to avail yourself of
shareware's advantages: try the software, see if it works for you,
make sure you can trust it to do what it says it will. 
 
As wonderful as software is, it won't happen if it isn't worthwhile to  
do it.  If you like M1Edit, please give serious consideration to  
registering.  See "Shareware!" on the M1Edit menu bar for further  
details. 
 
10.3. The Difference Between Editing And Cheating 
-------------------------------------------------
If a game does something you don't like, we think you should be able to  
change it. We feel that users have the right to edit games because they  
paid money for them: the game designer's don't own the game, the user  
does.  Editing isn't cheating, it is called getting your money's worth. 
 
10.4. How To Contact Us 
----------------------- 
The fastest way to get our attention is through CompuServe.  Either
of the following will do the job:

                   Trevor Flory, CIS: 70711,3712
                   Joe Mooney,   CIS: 71171,3042

If you would like to send us money or simply prefer communicating
via the postal service, our business address is:

                   Box 119 - 154 Chadwick Court
                   North Vancouver, B.C.
                   CANADA  V7M-3K1

This information is also available from within M1Edit: see
"Shareware!" on the M1Edit menu bar.

